esieged with petitions for new works from every impresario in
Italy.

II.

From 1812 to 1851 Verdi's busy imagination produced a series of operas,
which disputed the palm of popularity with the foremost composers of his
time. "I Lombardi," brought out at La Scala in 1843; "Ernani," at Venice
in 1844; "I Due Foscari," at Rome in 1844; "Giovanna D'Arco," at Milan,
and "Alzira," at Naples in 1845; "Attila," at Venice in 1846; and
"Macbetto," at Florence in 1847, were--all of them--successful works.
The last created such a genuine enthusiasm that he was crowned with a
golden aurel-wreath and escorted home from the theatre by an enormous
crowd. "I Masnadieri" was written for Jenny Lind, and performed first
in London in 1847 with that great singer, Gardoni, and Lablache, in the
cast. His next productions were "Il Corsaro," brought out at Trieste
in 1848; "La Battaglia di Legnano" at Rome in 1849; "Luisa Miller" at
Naples in the same year; and "Stiffelio" at Trieste in 1850. By this
series of works Verdi impressed himself powerfully on his age, but in
them he preserved faithfully the color and style of the school in which
he had been trained. But he had now arrived at the commencement of his
transition period. A distinguished French critic marks this change in
the following summary: "When Verdi began to write, the influences of
foreign literature and new theories on art had excited Italian
composers to seek a violent expression of the passions, and to leave
the interpretation of amiable and delicate sentiments for that of sombre
flights of the soul. A serious mind gifted with a rich imagination,
Verdi became the chief of the new school. His music became more intense
and dramatic; by vigor, energy, _verve_, a certain ruggedness and
sharpness, by powerful effects of sound, he conquered an immense
popularity in Italy, where success had hitherto been attained only by
the charm, suavity, and abundance of the melodies produced."

In "Rigoletto," produced in Venice in 1851, the full flowering of his
genius into the melodramatic style was signally shown. The opera story
adapted from Victor Hugo's "Le Roi s'amuse" is itself one of the most
dramatic of plots, and it seemed to have fired the composer into music
singularly vigorous, full of startling effects and novel treatment. Two
years afterward were brought out at Rome and Venice respectively two
operas, stamped with the same salient qualities, "Il Trovatore" and
"La Traviata," t